A quiet neighborhood nest with a wide selection of specialtydesserts, baked goods (the Scottish short bread is sheerperfection), and hot jerseys. Plenty of books and big tables forcard games, and the staff makes the whole thing a cozy affair.Coffee by the pound. More >>

http://www.dunnbros.com Dunn Bros. has grown to be one of the biggest local coffeehouse chains in the Twin Cities Metro, and the Grand Avenue location is where it all started. Free wi-fi, live music, patio seating and their special coffee blends make this a popular hangout for nearby Macalester students. More >>

http://www.ginkgocoffee.com Located on Snelling Avenue near Hamline University, Ginkgo Coffeehouse is Midway's gathering place not only for coffee, but also for music, presented here on a small stage facing the busy street outside. This family-friendly cafe also has a menu offering a variety of fair-trade and organic products and is open until 11 on school nights, midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. More >>

http://www.groundswellcoffee.org “Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks” is not a typical business plan, but so far it seems to be working for Seth McCoy. He’s the co-owner of Groundswell, an inviting little coffee shop in the Midway neighborhood that’s recently evolved into a casual cafe serving light lunch, happy hour, family-friendly weekend brunch, chef-driven dinner specials, and particularly outstanding house-made bakery items. “If there is just one word it comes down to it’s handcrafted,” says McCoy. “Everything we do is powered by people, from the wooden tables we made and the tile we laid to our pizza crust and the jewelry we sell next door.” Something good is most certainly brewing here and it seems like the neighborhood agrees. Power to the people. More >>

http://www.kopplinscoffee.com Andrew Kopplin thinks most coffee is crud, which is exactly why you should drink his. The veteran barista/shop owner sources his beans selectively and brews them by the cup in a fancy new machine called the Clover. (It gives coffee geeks precise control over water temperature and brew time, and does this thrilling little trick at the end of the cycle, in which the cylinder of coffee grounds raises up from the top of the machine.) So this is what coffee is supposed to taste like! Fragrant, fruity, spicy, and floral, not flat, dark, and bitter. Kopplin is at the shop nearly all the time, tending to all the little details, from how tightly the espresso grounds are packed to the size of the cappuccino's milk-foam bubbles. (By the way, the milk is from Crystal Ball Farms and Castle Rock-local, organic, grass-fed, and glass-bottled, just the way we like it.) He even hosts weekly "cuppings," where guests can taste-test offerings side-by-side and have passionate discussions about the coffee industry. Kopplin seems just as comfortable brewing a shot as entertaining a customer's baby, which is why his shop is totally worth the hype, er, buzz. More >>

A classy Latin restaurant that serves fluorescent soft drinks and divine sea bass, among other things like enchiladas and burritos. Get it steamed or grilled; either way, it comes with garlic and butter sauces, fried plantains, and black beans. Finish things off with a jalapeno sundae, mounds of ice cream loaded with red and green jalapeno sauces, topped off with whipped cream and a cherry. More >>